National Independence Day of Philippines:

Up from domination, another Asian narrative

Lakshman I.Keerthisinghe
LLB, LLM.MPhil, Attorney-at-Law

President- Sri Lanka Philippine Friendship Association
The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admiration of a friend
- Francis Bacon Of Friendship

The 115th Anniversary of the National Independence Day of Philippines was celebrated at the Consulate of the Philippines at 41, Sir Ernest De Silva Mawatha, Colombo 7 in Sri Lanka by the hoisting of the National Flag of Philippines at 7.30 am on June 12, 2013 by the Honorary Consul General William John Terrence Perera attended by the Filipino community in Sri Lanka, Officers and Executive Committee Members of the Sri Lanka-Philippine Friendship Association, other allied Associations and well wishers.

The Independence struggle in the Philippines gathered momentum with the Philippine Revolution which broke out in 1896. Eventually, the Spanish signed an agreement with the revolutionaries and their leader Emilio Aguinaldo went into exile in Hong Kong. As the Spanish-American War broke out, Commodore George Dewey sailed from Hong Kong to Manila Bay leading the Asiatic Squadron of the U.S. Navy. At the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, the United States defeated the Spanish. Later that month, the U.S. Navy transported Aguinaldo back to the Philippines. On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo led the declaration of Philippine independence from the Spanish Colonial rule.

Spanish government

On June 12, 1998, the nation celebrated its hundredth year of independence from Spain. The celebrations were held simultaneously nationwide by then President Fidel V.Ramos and the Filipino diaspora. The National Centennial Commission was headed by former Vice President and Prime Minister Salvador Laurel. The body organized and presided over all events around the country. One of the major projects of the commission was the Expo Pilipino, a grand showcase of the Philippines' growth as a nation in a century, located in the Clark Special Economic Zone (formerly Clark Air Base) in Angeles City, Pampanga, Some other important events included a re-enactment of the first unfurling of the Flag at the Aguinaldo Shrine, and the usual flag raising at Independence Flagpole in Luneta Park,Manila.

Philippine independence was not recognized either by the US or by Spain. The Spanish government later ceded the Philippine archipelago to the United States in the 1698 Treaty of Paris. The Philippine Revolutionary Government did not recognize the treaty. When the Americans sought to execute the terms of the treaty, a three-year conflict, now called the Philippine-American WAR, ensued.

Historical landmarks

The US granted independence to the Philippines on July 4, 1946 through the Treaty of Manila. July 4, the date intentionally chosen by the United States be cause it corresponds to its Independence Day, was observed in the Philippines as Independence Day until 1962. On May 12, 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal issued Presidential Proclamation No. 28, which declared Tuesday,June 12 a special public holiday throughout the Philippines, “... in commemoration of our people's declaration of their inherent and inalienable right to freedom and independence. On August 4, 1964, Republic Act No. 4166 renamed July 4 holiday as "Philippine Republic Day", proclaimed June 12 as "Philippine Independence Day", and enjoined all citizens of the Philippines to observe the latter with befitting rites. Prior to 1964, June 12 had been observed as Flag Day, which was moved to May 28(the date the Philippine Flag was first flown in battle).(Wikipedia)

As this is the national independence day in Philippines the day is spent (either if it falls on a weekday or weekend) with family bonding with friends and relatives and outdoor and indoor activities. All government offices are closed on that day as this is a national holiday and so also are schools (June marks the start of the school year) and private enterprises save for commercial establishments. As required by law the Flag of Philippines, first flown on that day in 1898, flies proudly in homes and establishments from as early as May 28, Flag Day, to the 30th of the month. Fireworks displays are the norm in Manila on that day as well as other patriotic displays nationwide. Kawit, Cavite holds a yearly commemorative act with the flag raising at the Aguinaldo Shrine and the reading of the Philippine Declaration of Independence.

Bilateral trade

The festivities begin in Manila's Rizal Park or in selected historical landmarks of the nation as is the trend since 2011 in which the President of the Philippines, the Vice President of the Philippines, members of the state Cabinet and Congress, members of government organizations and state employees, representatives of the uniformed services (Armed Forces, National Police, Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology), youth uniformed organizations and business entities, veterans, people from the nation's different religions and ethic minorities, the state diplomatic corps, honoured dignitaries and the general public begin the national commemorations through a simultaneous raising of the National Flag at 7 in the morning preceded by holiday honours by the AFP to the President (the flag is raised to the tune of the national anthem, Lupang Hinirang, first performed on this day in 1898) followed by wreath laying ceremonies and the Presidential holiday address.

In the afternoon after the holiday toast or in the hours after the morning ceremonies in Manila, the commemorations continue with the civil-military parade at the historic Quirino Grandstand. It is a regular feature of the celebrations yearly.

The parade begins with the arrival of the President, Vice President and other guests in attendance. On the moment of the President's arrival, together with the AFP Chief of Staff, full arrival honors are given by cadets of the Philippine Military Academy and members of the Presidential Security Group with the PSG Band or PMA Band in attendance. As the band plays the "President's March" and the combined honor guard presents arms, a 21-gun salute is performed by a select battery from the Philippine Army Field Artillery Regiment (Regimiento de Artileria del Campana del Ejercito Filipino) in the same time.

As the march ends, the honor guard commander orders the parade to order arms and informs the President and the CSAFP of the readiness of the honor guard to be reviewed. The guard is then reviewed as the band plays a review march. As the review ends the honor guard presents arms again and afterwards, after the guard orders arms, the commander informs the President of the end of the review. They march off as the President and the CSAFP walk towards the grandstand area to meet the other dignitaries.

It is followed by the National Anthem, a joint holiday ecumenical prayer, and later by the opening remarks and the Presidential address. A civil parade follows at the end of the military parade. It is composed of contingents from the government and the private sector marching past the dignitaries. Floats celebrating the national holiday and marching bands take centre stage passing by the dignitaries in this segment

The long history of friendship and close relations between Sri Lanka and the Philippines cover a wide range of areas, including political, economic and enduring people-to-people links. Diplomatic relations were established between Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January 1951 with the Government of the Philippines opening a legation in Colombo. Sri Lanka had a Charge d’ Affaires level Mission, accredited to Japan, and the relations were upgraded to the Embassy level in Colombo and Manila in 1964 and 1966 respectively. On March 1, 1990, the Sri Lanka government decided to close down the Embassy in Manila, while the Government of the Philippines also closed down their Embassy in Colombo on June 30, 1993.

Typhoon “Bhopa”

In September 1998, a new Sri Lankan resident Mission was reopened in Manila, with high priority given to coordinate aid and technical assistance programmes to Sri Lanka from the Asian Development Bank, Manila. The position of the Philippines as the founding member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), was also a vital political factor that led to the opening of the Mission.

The Philippine Embassy in Bangladesh is concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka. The Philippine’s interests is represented in Sri Lanka by an Honorary Consul in Colombo appointed on December 20, 1993. There are about 400-500 skilled and semi- skilled Filipino workers in Sri Lanka. Political cooperation between the Philippines and Sri Lanka takes place in both the bilateral and multilateral arena.

In the late nineteenth century, the Philippine’s National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, thrice visited Colombo and cultivated friendships. These marked the visits by a ranking Philippine Official to Sri Lanka. To honour this historical link, a suite in the Grand Oriental Hotel, Colombo where Dr. Rizal stayed, during his visits,has been named as the “Jose Rizal Suite”. Economic relations between the Philippines and Sri Lanka have been active. The total trade turnover between the two countries has been growing significantly.

As of October 2006, bilateral trade between the two countries however showed a similar scenario as in preceding years in favour of the Philippines. This is attributed generally to the composition of Sri Lanka’s imports from the Philippines, which consist of a range of higher-valued products.

Sri Lanka’s leading exports to the Philippines consist of fabrics, tyres, tea, gloves, apparel and clothing accessories. The Philippine’s exports to Sri Lanka consist of parts and accessories of machines, medicaments, activated carbon, cotton, iron and steel, perfumes, office machines, food (malt extract) electrical machinery, sound recorders, construction materials, textiles and yarns, and chemical products etc.

Sri Lanka donated USD 25,000 to the Philippines to rebuild houses destroyed by the typhoon “Bhopa”. In December, 2012 lives of thousands of Filipino people living in Compostela Valley in Davao province in the Philippines were severely disrupted by typhoon “Bhopa” which claimed several hundreds of lives and destroyed properties worth millions. The impact of the disaster found to be enormous and a state of national calamity was declared by the Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III. Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Philippines Nawalage Bennet Cooray, conveyed personal condolences of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Government of the Philippines and pledged on behalf of the President Sri Lanka’s support for a housing rehabilitation programme. A cheque worth sum of USD 25,000 was presented to Foreign Secretary of the Republic of the Philippines Albert F. Del Rosario by Ambassador Cooray at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila on February 27 2013.. (Courtesy: President Media Unit)

The Consul General said on the 114th Anniversary of the celebration of National Day last year that ‘Philippines and Sri Lanka have undergone vast strides in development in many spheres of activity for the past half a century of diplomatic and bilateral relations between the two countries and this relationship will be further accelerated with more dynamic and meaningful policies of the 15th President of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno S. Aquino III with his mothers vision Late Maria Corazon Aquino - 11th President of the Philippines.’

In conclusion, as both the peoples of Sri Lanka and Philippines are warm, friendly and hospitable Sri Lanka can build on this common ground and develop the friendship between our peoples on which the improvement of bilateral trade between the two nations can be enhanced thereby ensuring the well being of both nations.